‘I never f inalised deal to sell €15m estate to billionaire Magnier’
THE manager of the €15million Barne Estate in Co. Tipperary did not have the authority to sell the farm, the Commercial Court has heard.
Coolmore Stud magnate John Magnier said he shook hands on a deal with Richard Thomson-Moore, but the defence claims the land was held in trust for the ThomsonMoore family, and the trustees or shareholders were never asked to approve any deal.
Mr Thomson-Moore’s family have owned Barne Estate, which includes a chateau-style mansion and 750 acres, since 1654.
However, he has told the court in filings that he and his sister Alexandra are beneficiaries of the Repus Trust, which is based in Jersey and owns Barne Estate Ltd, which in turn owns the Co. Tipperary property.
In his case, Mr Magnier alleges
‘Stayed for dinner to celebrate’
Court hears there was no authority for sale of farm
that he and his wife Susan invited Mr Thomson-Moore and his wife Anna to Coolmore House to discuss the sale in August last year.
The €15million deal that Mr Thomson-Moore said he struck was higher than the guide price of €13.5million for which the house was first listed in July.
To seal the deal, Mr ThomsonMoore, Mr Magnier, and an estate agent called John Stokes all allegedly shook hands.
The papers also note that the Thomson-Moores ‘stayed for dinner and drinks to celebrate the deal being concluded’.
Mr Thomson-Moore claims nothing was finalised, and that construction multi-millionaire Maurice Regan had made a later offer for more than €20million, which was about to go through before Mr Magnier launched his legal action. The Commercial Court case came before Judge Denis McDonald yesterday for a preliminary application, before the main hearing of the case can proceed. The judge was asked to rule on a dispute regarding questions Mr Magnier’s legal team had sent to the defendants, who include Mr Thomson-Moore, Barne Estate Limited and its shareholders IQ EQ One (Jersey) and IQ EQ Two (Jersey).
Martin Hayden SC, for the defendants, said it was clearly stated that Mr Thomson-Moore had no authority to approve a sale to Mr Magnier on the night of August 22, when the deal was said to have been struck.
He accused billionaire Mr Magnier’s legal team of ‘being in difficulties’ with their claim and ‘going on a fishing expedition’.
‘It is the plaintiff’s case that Richard Thomson-Moore had actual authority or implied authority on that night… We say he did not,’ he stated.
He accused Mr Magnier’s team of now trying to claim that authority was had been given at some later time after following the August 22 meeting, when this was not initially pleaded. Paul Gallagher, for the Magniers, said the ‘issue of authority, as raised by the defendants, is obviously, as far as they are concerned, a critical issue’. He said the Magniers had asked for details of when the defendants were first contacted about the alleged deal. ‘At no stage, prior to the filing of the defence, was it suggested there was no authority to reach an agreement,’ he said.
He said his clients wanted to know precisely what authority the relevant people had, including the estate agent, Savills, on the night and in subsequent days and weeks. The judge said the questions about any subsequent authority did not arise from the stated defence, but that Mr Magnier
would be likely to ask them as the case progressed, and that they should therefore be answered. He said it was in everyone’s interests to get the case on ‘as quickly as possible’.
Court papers also revealed yesterday that Mr Magnier has claimed that after the meeting of August 22, he gave Mr ThomsonMoore and his sister Alexandra €25,000 each in two envelopes, as he heard they were ‘strapped for cash’. He said he and his son John Paul, and the auctioneer, John Stokes, met Mr ThomsonMoore and his wife Anna outside the house and that the money was handed over then. The money was returned some days later, the court heard. Mr Magnier made the allegation in reply to the Barne Estate’s counterclaim that his legal action has potentially cost them the sale to Mr Regan. The case will return to the court at a later date.
‘As quickly as possible’